Red Bull Racing quickest in Monaco FP1, Max second
Published on 24 May 2018 by Stefan Meens
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing dominated the opening session of the Monaco Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo was quickest, followed by Max Verstappen who trailed the Australian by a tenth of a second. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was third with Sebastian Vettel fourth in the Ferrari.
As the lap times drop, Max and Daniel keep taking the fastest laps of each other. Halfway through the session, Lewis Hamilton joins the party by stealing the top spot.
Ten minutes later, Max regains P1 but ultimately has to concede to Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian, who touched the barriers at the swimming pool without damaging his car, is the early pace setter in the principality.
After the session, Max has to go to the stewards’ office. It turns out, he went straight on at the first corner, avoiding the barriers in the process. But upon rejoining the race track, by reversing his RB14, a yellow flag was waved simultaneously. After a quick investigation, the stewards opt to not do anything.
Results first free practice Monaco:
| pos | driver | team | time | gap | laps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Ricciardo | RIC | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:12.126 | 35 | |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | VER | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:12.280 | +0.154s | 24 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | HAM | Mercedes | 1:12.480 | +0.354s | 33 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | VET | Ferrari | 1:13.041 | +0.915s | 39 |
| 5 | Kimi Räikkönen | RAI | Ferrari | 1:13.066 | +0.940s | 37 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | SAI | Renault | 1:13.456 | +1.330s | 39 |
| 7 | Valtteri Bottas | BOT | Mercedes | 1:13.502 | +1.376s | 38 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | PER | Force India Mercedes | 1:13.717 | +1.591s | 38 |
| 9 | Romain Grosjean | GRO | Haas Ferrari | 1:13.943 | +1.817s | 23 |
| 10 | Sergey Sirotkin | SIR | Williams Mercedes | 1:13.962 | +1.836s | 39 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | OCO | Force India Mercedes | 1:14.000 | +1.874s | 38 |
| 12 | Brendon Hartley | HAR | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:14.034 | +1.908s | 45 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | HUL | Renault | 1:14.134 | +2.008s | 37 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | GAS | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:14.240 | +2.114s | 37 |
| 15 | Stoffel Vandoorne | VAN | McLaren Renault | 1:14.291 | +2.165s | 36 |
| 16 | Charles Leclerc | LEC | Sauber Ferrari | 1:14.521 | +2.395s | 38 |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso | ALO | McLaren Renault | 1:14.637 | +2.511s | 15 |
| 18 | Lance Stroll | STR | Williams Mercedes | 1:14.782 | +2.656s | 42 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | ERI | Sauber Ferrari | 1:15.206 | +3.080s | 38 |
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen | MAG | Haas Ferrari | 1:18.801 | +6.675s | 7 |
